


Undead Origins V

by Whiskey_With_Patron



Series: Undead Origins [5]
Category: Hollywood Undead (Band)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2020-06-03 02:16:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19454269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whiskey_With_Patron/pseuds/Whiskey_With_Patron
Summary: In the last story of the fan-made Undead Origins series, the guys of Hollywood Undead must save one of their own from Book Industries once again. This time, they can't even get close to the building. All of Los Angeles has been taken over by Book, and if they're seen in the city, they're as good as dead. However, they can't let one of their friends become a mindless zombie because of Book's process. They team up with other citizens who have fled the city and come up with a plan so they can destroy Book Industries for good.





	Undead Origins V

**Author's Note:**

> I have been writing nonstop for about a week and I was sleep deprived through most of it so this might suck. I apologize once again because it's way longer than I was hoping it would be

Usually, Los Angeles is a loud, busy place, the streets bustling with thousands of people going about their day. It would be odd for a person to go to Los Angeles and find it with emptier streets, the normal buzz of the city dulled down to a quiet hum.

However, Los Angeles was like that for a time. A horrible politician named Councilman Book had manipulated the entire city, and now everyone was simply working at their jobs instead of spending time interacting with anyone else. They just existed with no fears, no worries, no negative emotions. Like robots carrying out their programming.

But was everyone like this? Good question. Not everyone. Some people managed to hide their emotions and fly under the radar. Others simply didn't care and proceeded to live as is, not causing trouble for Book, but not bending to his will either.

However, the majority of the people who remained unaffected by Book's brainwashing had fled the city. They stayed at the outskirts of Los Angeles, waiting for the chance to end Book's reign for good.

Charlie Scene woke with the worst headache of his life. Not only that, but his shoulder felt like it was on fire. He groaned and opened his eyes. The bright light in the room illuminated the pale blue walls. The chair Charlie was in was at the back of the room, directly across from a brown door in the opposite wall. It didn't take him to long to realize where he was.

Book Industries.

He pushed himself out of the chair. There were no security guards in the room with him, which was a relief. Maybe he could make a break for it before anyone-

He was interrupted mid-thought when the door opened. A familiar redheaded woman walked in, carrying a clipboard and a pen like she usually was.

Charlie narrowed his eyes. "Dr. Judy."

"Hello, Mr. Scene," she said. Neither her face nor her voice had any of the wicked cockiness it had when she had spoken with him the first time, back when she had given Charlie and J-Dog a tour of the Book Technologies building. Now she just seemed cold, almost emotionless.

She gestured to the chair behind him. "Why don't you take a seat so we can get started?"

Charlie reluctantly sat back down. Dr. Judy grabbed a chair from the corner of the room and pulled it closer to Charlie. "So," she began as she lowered herself into her seat, "you are aware of all the steps to the procedure? The surgery, the chemical alteration-"

"And the behavior therapy," Charlie finished. "Yeah, I got it."

"The first two we can do without your cooperation," Dr. Judy said, "but the behavioral modification has to be done willingly."

Charlie crossed his arms and glared at her. "What, and you think you can convince me to go through with this? I'm not letting you turn me into a mindless zombie, and that's final!"

Dr. Judy's brow furrowed with what might have been concern. "I had a feeling you would day that." She crossed her legs and leaned back in her chair. "However, I have to discuss some things with you before we begin. Your goals, your dreams, your darkest secrets and fears- I need to know everything."

"My only goal is to get rid of Councilman Book," Charlie grumbled. 

She raised an eyebrow. "Really? Nothing else?"

Charlie hesitated. The only other thing he really wanted was to get back to his friends. His team. It felt wrong being forced to stay away from them. He didn't say that, though. He didn't want to say anything more to her than he had to. He just sat back in his chair and glared at her.

Dr. Judy wrote something on her clipboard. "Any fears, then? Worries? Anything that causes you distress or anxiety?"

"Yeah," Charlie scoffed. "Being here! Being forced to go through this bullshit process and live the rest of my life as a fucking robot! _That's_ what scares me!"

She looked down at her clipboard. "That... certainly complicates things," she muttered. She glanced back up at Charlie, then at her clipboard again. Then she abruptly stood up from her chair. "I'm sorry, I have to go speak with someone. Just... stay here. I'll be back."

She walked to the door and left the room. Charlie stared in confusion as the door swung shut behind her.

Dr. Judy hesitantly knocked on Councilman Book's door. "Councilman! I need to talk!"

"Come in!" Book's voice shouted through the door.

Dr. Judy opened the door and stepped inside. The entire top part of the building had been rebuilt since the fire that occurred just a couple weeks ago. Councilman Book was standing at the far wall of his office. The far wall was made entirely of glass panels, and Book had lowered one of them. Dr. Judy knew he couldn't see anymore, so she wasn't sure why he was staring out the window.

"What's the problem, Judy?" Book asked.

Dr. Judy shut the door behind her. "I just have some concerns. About... Charlie Scene."

"Like what?"

She hesitated. "Well... I tried asking him about his fears and anxieties- you know, like I have to do with every client- and he said that... that his only fear is going through the process. He..." Her voice trailed off when Book turned around to face her. 

"Judy," he said, "I want you to be quiet for a moment." He gestured to the window. "Just listen."

She stopped and listened. "I don't hear anything."

He spread his hands. "Exactly! The city is quiet. People are happy. They're not wasting any time doing things that they'll regret later on. They're all out there living their dreams and making something of themselves! Mr. Scene just needs to see that he can do the same."

"But he doesn't want to be here!" Dr. Judy exploded. "He doesn't want to live like them! He's already happy with his life! We're supposed to be helping the people who want it, not forcing people to change when they're already fine with what they are!"

She regretted saying anything as soon as she finished. Book's smile twisted into a frown as she spoke. "Judy," he said quietly. "Don't you remember what he and his friends did to our corporation? Don't you remember what his _fucking_ bird did to my eyes? That man is unstable, and so is everyone in his little crew. They either need to die so we make the world better without interruptions, or change _with_ the world. We are giving them the chance to change. You need to understand that."

Dr. Judy fixed her gaze to the ground. "Right. I'm sorry, I just... I don't know what I was thinking."

Book turned around again to face the window. "You should go back and start with the surgery."

Dr. Judy nodded. "Yes sir."

It had been a day since Charlie was taken, and Johnny 3 Tears still felt guilty about it. 

After the hotel the guys had stayed at was attacked by Book, everyone who had been staying there fled the city. Other people who opposed Book had settled just outside Los Angeles, too afraid to stay in the city but not willing to leave it behind completely. Some people had pitched up tents among the hills, while others managed to drive some trailers out of the city. Supplies and shelter were limited, so they tried to distribute things more or less equally. Some people had set up campfires for those who didn't have anywhere to sleep.

Danny cracked open a bottle of beer as he sat down next to Johnny in front of a campfire. People bustled around them, some of them setting up more fires for the night, others taking blankets and medical supplies to those who needed them. "Hey man," Danny said. "You seen Charlie's neighbor anywhere? She said she'd find some bandages for Funny Man."

Johnny shook his head. "Nope."

Danny sighed. There was no use trying to hold a conversation with Johnny. He'd been feeling guilty about Charlie getting kidnapped since yesterday. He and Charlie had tried to go after Councilman Book, but Charlie had been shot and taken away by Book's security guards. Danny, Funny Man, and J-Dog had said over and over that it wasn't his fault, but he kept insisting that he could have stopped them. 

Danny turned around when he heard footsteps. Funny Man was limping towards them, leaning heavily on a guy with curly black hair. The guy was still wearing his comedy/tragedy theatre mask. He helped Funny Man slowly lower himself to the ground to sit next to Danny.

"Thanks," Funny said as soon as he was on the ground.

"No problem," the guy said as he walked away. He disappeared into a trailer.

Funny Man leaned past Danny to look at Johnny. "You okay, homie?"

Johnny shrugged. "Dunno. You?"

Funny snorted. "Well, I've got a gaping wound in my side. Could be better."

"Did you find Tracey?" Danny asked. 

Funny shook his head. "Nope."

Danny stared into the fire. "You think Charlie's okay?" he asked quietly.

Neither of the other guys answered. They didn't know whether Charlie was okay or not. He could have already become a mindless zombie like the rest of Los Angeles by now. There was no way to be sure.

The guys heard a loud squawking sound in front of them and looked up. J-Dog was walking towards them with a small black parrot in his hands. The parrot screeched and bit at J-Dog's fingers, but it couldn't go anywhere because its wings were trapped by J-Dog's hands. He rushed toward the other guys and let the bird go. It immediately fluttered over to Johnny and settled on his shoulder.

"I don't think that's how you're supposed to hold a bird," Danny pointed out.

"I've never had a bird before!" J-Dog said as he sat next to Johnny. "I'm more of a cat person!" He hesitantly pat the parrot on the head. "Sorry."

The parrot squawked. "Faaaaaaaq you!"

Johnny scratched the bird on the head and stared into the flames. The parrot, whose name was Jack, belonged to Charlie. The rest of the guys had taken on the responsibility of caring for him. J-Dog had taken him to a vet in a trailer on another hill, since one of Book's security guards had hurt the parrot the last time they fought. Luckily, Jack was fine. He was just very distressed now that Charlie wasn't around. He seemed to have attached himself to Johnny for some reason.

Danny finished off his beer. "Did you see Tracey on your way back?"

J-Dog nodded. "Yeah." He dug into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a roll of gauze. "Funny Man?"

Funny sighed. "Fine."

J-Dog stood up and walked over to Funny Man. "Just try not to get blood on me again. It's really hard to wash out."

Funny shrugged as he shucked off his jacket. "I can't control where I bleed, dude."

Funny Man lifted up the end of his shirt to reveal bandages wrapped around his stomach. Blood had soaked through the gauze on the right side of his torso. J-Dog pulled a pair of scissors from his pocket and carefully snipped through the clean part of the bandages. Funny Man grimaced as J-Dog peeled the blood-caked gauze away, exposing a dried, dark red scab that covered almost a third of his abdomen.

Danny cringed. "Ugh." He stood up and nudged Johnny with his hand. "I'm gonna get some more beer. Wanna come?"

Johnny took one look at the scab and pushed himself to his feet. "Yeah. I'm not sticking around for this."

"It's just a little blood!" Funny Man said as they walked away.

Danny and Johnny didn't respond. They walked up to a cooler that was surrounded by a bunch of other people. They were all chugging cans and bottles of alcohol. One girl was drinking straight from a bottle of vodka, and it looked like she was going to down the whole thing. Danny grabbed two bottles from the cooler and handed one to Johnny.

A lady in a leather jacket walked up to them, a can of beer in one hand. "Hey guys. Did J-Dog get those bandages to Funny Man?"

Johnny nodded. "Hey Tracy. Yeah, he got them."

Tracey, Charlie's former neighbor, sighed with relief. "That's good."

Tracey had been helping the guys out since Charlie had been taken. She helped get them out of the city so they'd be safe, she'd found a veterinarian to check on Jack, she'd gotten them blankets so they wouldn't freeze during the night. She was just as determined to take down Book as they were, and she seemed to think that the guys could organize a full attack on Book Industries. They probably could, of course- they'd done so before. But things had changed since then. Now the whole city was under Book's control, and they couldn't count on any backup.

Tracey drained the rest of her beer. "We'd better do something soon. Who knows how far along in the process Charlie might be by now?"

Johnny nodded. He hesitated, then spoke. "Hey Tracey, could you tell everyone you can find to meet us here tomorrow morning?"

Her eyes lit up. "Why? You have a plan?"

Danny shrugged. "Maybe. We're still trying to work out the details."

She grinned. "Well, I hope you figure it out soon. I'll go spread the word!" She snatched two more cans of beer from the cooler and took off into the night. 

Danny grabbed another bottle of beer from the cooler and he and Johnny walked back towards the campfire. "You really think we can pull this off?" he asked.

Johnny thought about it. "Maybe. Hard to say. We'll have to wait and see."

Danny sat down next to Funny Man and held out a beer. "You holding up okay?"

Funny Man hissed in pain as J-Dog wiped off the dried blood around the wound. "Yeah, I feel great." He took the beer in one hand and pried the lid off with his teeth. "Maybe it would be better if we could get a doctor to do this."

"Look, I've never done this before," J-Dog said. "Cut me some slack." Funny Man's wound looked much better now that most of dried blood was gone. J-Dog tossed aside the gauze he'd been using to clean off the blood and picked up the roll of bandages. 

Funny Man chugged half of his bottle as J-Dog wrapped the bandages around Funny's torso. "If anything happens to Charlie, I'm gonna cut Book's head off."

Danny nodded. "I'll help you."

J-Dog fastened the bandages in place and set the roll aside. "It's not the best, but it'll hold for now." He sighed and sat down next to Funny Man. "Are you guys sure we can make this work?" he wondered.

Johnny sighed. "If we don't, we'll never get Charlie back. We have to try."

Charlie jumped in his seat when the door to his room slammed open. Four of Book's security guards poured into the room. Dr. Judy stepped in after them, her clipboard and pen in hand.

Charlie glared at them. "What do you want?"

Two of the guards walked up to him and grabbed his arms. They hoisted him out of the chair and dragged him to the door. Charlie's shoulder screamed in protest, and he tried to wrench his arm out of their grip.

"It's time for your surgery," Dr. Judy said. She stepped aside to let the guards carry Charlie out of the room. 

Charlie struggled to free himself from the guards, but one of them roughly grabbed his injured shoulder. He yelped in pain and Dr. Judy glared at the guard. "Be careful with him!" she said. "He was shot, and he still needs to go through the brain surgery!"

The guard reluctantly let go of his shoulder. The other two guards followed behind them as Dr. Judy led them down a long hallway. Charlie read the names on every door they passed, wondering if anyone else here was being forced to go through process like he was. 

Dr. Judy took them down another hallway and stopped in front of a white door with no name on it. "Let him go. I'll take him in."

The guards let go of Charlie's arms. They turned and walked back down the hallway. Charlie grimaced and hesitantly touched his shoulder. "So I guess I'm gonna be a robot now, huh?"

Dr. Judy shook her head. "No. The surgery only prepares your brain for the last two steps of the process. You'll be fine until you've recovered from the surgery." She took a deep breath. "Then we'll start with the rest of the procedure."

She stepped forward and opened the door. In the room beyond was a hospital bed. A few doctors in white lab coats mingled around the room, most of them scribbling on clipboards or cleaning surgical supplies. That was all he could see, but the sight of it made Charlie's heart leap into his throat. 

"You can't get out of this, Mr. Scene," Dr. Judy said, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. She walked into the room and looked back at him expectantly.

Charlie glanced up and down the hallway. A few security guards lingered at either end of the corridor. There didn't seem to be any way out. He took a deep breath and went through the door.

That night, the guys slept in a car they'd stolen from Book's security guards. They donned their masks early in the morning and left the vehicle to see hundreds of people gathered on and around the hill. Some still looked exhausted, dressed entirely in pyjamas, chugging bottles and cans of beer to wake themselves up. Others looked ready for battle, wearing their masks and carrying various weapons. Most of the people were sitting around the remains of campfires from last night. They seemed to be waiting for something. 

Tracey pushed her way through the crowd and approached the guys, a wide grin on her face. "Mornin'!" she greeted as she adjusted her leather eye mask.

"How did you get so many people?" Johnny asked.

She shrugged. "I work fast. Besides, everyone is sick of Book controlling the city. They're all raring to do something about it. Have you figured out your plan yet?"

The guys all exchanged a nervous glance. "Yeah, more or less," J-Dog answered. 

"Great!" She turned to face the crowd. "Hey! Everybody!"

Everyone slowly quieted down and turned to face her. She gestured to Johnny, Danny, J-Dog, and Funny Man. "These are the guys who organized the first attack on Book technologies over a month ago," she announced. "They said they have a plan, so listen up!" 

She stepped aside to let the guys have centre stage. She gave them a quick thumbs up for encouragement. 

The guys glanced at each other, silently debating over who should speak first. They all turned their gazes to Danny. He sighed and stepped forward.

"I know we're all angry that Book has control over Los Angeles," he began, loud enough for everyone to hear, "and I know we're all eager to take back our city. We've all tried to fight back as individuals, but now that we're all in one place, we can launch an organized attack on Book and his corporation."

"We came up with a plan," Johnny piped up. "It's not the best, but it might get us into the city so we can get into Book Industries and take that fucker down!"

A few hopeful murmurs rose up among the crowd. A guy wearing welding goggles and a ragged black cloth tied around his lower face raised his hand. "What's the plan?" he asked.

"First of all," Funny said, "you guys might need to stop drinking all of the alcohol. We're gonna need some flammable liquid."

A few people groaned, but they reluctantly put the lids back onto their various bottles. "Second," J-Dog continued, "we're going to need someone who can broadcast a message across the entire city."

A ginger girl with a red mask raised her hand. "You mean, like that thing you guys did the first time we attacked Book Technologies?"

Danny nodded. "Exactly like that. If anyone can do that, we'll need your help."

Another hand rose from the middle of the crowd. "I think I can take care of that!" The hand disappeared and the person pushed through the crowd.

Funny Man broke into a smile when he saw who it was. "King Don!"

Don grinned. "I think I can get your message through the city, 'wise prophet and sage of Hollywood'."

"Great," Johnny said. "Now all we need are enough vehicles to get all of us into the city. We can steal some from Book if we need to, but just make sure we have enough room for everyone."

A guy with a blue and white mask and another guy with an orange mesh hood over his face raised their hands and jumped up and down. "We'll take care of the cars!" the guy in the mesh hood offered.

"So what are we going to do with all this?" asked a tall guy with long blond hair.

J-Dog grinned under his mask. "Well..."

Charlie woke to a sharp pain in the back of his head. He reached back and carefully touched his spot where the pain seemed to be centered. The hair on the back of his neck had been shaved away and replaced with a short line of stitches. His shoulder still hurt every time he moved his arm.

The door to his room swung open and he looked up. Dr. Judy walked into the room, her clipboard in hand. "Mr. Scene," she said, pulling her chair from the corner of the room towards him. She sat down. "Are you feeling okay?"

Charlie glared at her. "I would be if I wasn't here."

She nodded and wrote something on her clipboard. "You seem to be adjusting well to the surgery. Do you think you'll be ready for the chemical alteration any time soon?"

Charlie crossed his arms and didn't answer. He refused to tell her anything that might speed up the process. 

Dr. Judy glanced back at the door, as if making sure that no one was listening. "So... You want to kill Book? That's your only goal?"

Charlie nodded. "Yeah. He's destroying the city. Why can't you see that?"

She hesitated. "Well... I have been able to see him in a bit of a... _different_ view recently. Not exactly in a good way, either," she added quietly. She glanced back at the door one more time, then frantically scrambled for something in her pocket. She took something out and held it out to Charlie. "Here. I think you might need this."

Charlie stared at her. In her palm was a black bandanna that read "Charlie Scene" in gold letters. He thought he'd lost it when he he'd been kidnapped by Book's security guards.

He took the bandanna from her hand and she reached for something else in her pocket. "These are yours too, right?" she asked, holding out a pair of sunglasses. 

Charlie grabbed the sunglasses and blinked in surprise. "Why?" he asked.

She stood up and dragged her chair back to the corner of the room. "I just have a feeling that you'll be needing those soon, that's all. Besides, I think your friends might be coming to visit you soon."

Charlie gaped at her as she walked out the door and slammed it shut behind her.

Dr. Judy shoved some papers in a file in her office as her thoughts raced through her head. Had she done the right thing, giving Charlie Scene his mask? Maybe Book was right. Maybe Charlie Scene would be happier after he went through the process. Maybe everyone would.

But then again, she hadn't gone through it herself. She was happy with the way she was now... or was she? Were these paranoid thoughts completely unnecessary? Would she be better off getting rid of her worries and fears? All of this would be so much easier if she didn't have so many conflicting thoughts.

"Are we really helping people?" she whispered aloud. She thought about all of the deaths that had happened at Book Technologies before they had perfected every step of the process. She'd thought it had all been for the good of science, but.. was it really? Was Book just trying to control the city? Had that been his motive all along?

" _Ugh!_ " She flopped onto her chair. This was so annoying! Book trusted her! Was she really going to break that trust just because she thought he _might_ be less of a good guy than she thought?

Her cell phone rang and she almost fell out of her chair in surprise. She snatched it off her desk and held it up to her ear. "Hello?"

"Dr. Judy," Councilman Book's voice said. "I've been meaning to speak with you about something."

That didn't sound good. Dr. Judy took a deep breath. "About what?" she asked, trying to keep her voice as neutral and emotionless as possible.

"About the people who still oppose us," he continued. "There is still a considerable amount of them out there. I'm afraid they might be planning something."

"Yeah, I've been wondering about that too," Dr. Judy said. She wasn't sure where this conversation was going, but she figured she'd just smile and nod for the time being. She'd already pissed him off the day before, and until she figured out her thoughts, she was going to try staying on his good side.

"If they kill me, Book Industries is done," he said. "I don't exactly have a successor."

Dr. Judy furrowed her brow. "Okay..." Where was this going?

"If anything happens to me, I want you to take over Book Industries."

She blinked. "What? Me?"

"Yes. I've already informed the staff of my decision. I've even got the papers ready. All they'd need are your signature. You truly are a visionary, Judy. You and I see things the same way. I have full confidence that you could run the city as well as I do."

She considered his words. "You mean... I could run the _company_ as well as you? I wouldn't be a councilwoman unless I ran for the position. I wouldn't be running the city if I was just CEO of the company."

There was a short pause. "Ah, yes. I meant to say the company. You could run the _company_ as well as I do. Although, I have no doubt that you would get the position if you did run for councilwoman."

Dr. Judy thought about it, then nodded to herself. "Okay. I won't let you down, sir. You can count on me." She hung up and tossed her phone back on her desk.

She gathered up her papers and shoved them into a random file. "I knew he was trying to control the city!" she mumbled.

She tossed her files into her filing cabinet. As she cleaned up her things, an idea popped into her head. If she really wanted to stop him...

She thought about it for a moment. She still wasn't sure what she wanted to do about Book. She did want to make the world better and help people feel better about their lives, but she didn't know whether the process was the way to go about that.

She would decide later. Right now, she had a client to attend to.

Funny Man watched over King Don's shoulder as he fidgeted with someone's laptop. "You really think you can broadcast a live message from an old laptop?"

Don shrugged. "Dunno. I have better stuff back at the bar, but I can't exactly use that right now. This is all we have."

Funny straightened and looked behind him. "Hey Danny! How's it going with the explosives?"

Danny glanced at the bottle of beer he was about to pour into his mouth. "Uh... It's going great!" He gestured to the people he was working with and they all reluctantly lowered their own bottles.

J-Dog passed by the group, carrying a ton of already made explosives in his arms. "Stop drinking!"

"Stop drinking!" Jack squawked as he flew overhead. He settled on Johnny's shoulder, who was in the middle of sharpening Funny Man's battle axe. 

Three black cars rolled up the hill and stopped in front of him. Johnny looked up just as six people hopped out of the vehicles.

A guy with cornrows and a black bandanna painted with neon colours leaned out of the driver's side of one vehicle. "We got you some cars!" 

The tall blond man from earlier shrugged. "Eh. It's not our best work."

"We're definitely going to need some more," the ginger girl with the red mask said.

Johnny nodded. "Yeah, we will. Did you see any more of Book's guards you could steal cars from?"

"There are a few," said the guy in the white and blue mask, "but we're not sure if we can beat all of them up on our own."

The guy with the welding goggles and black cloth waved his hand dismissively. "Nah, we can do it!"

The man with the orange mesh hood shook his head. "No, we can't. We'll have to bring some more people with us."

Tracey set down the explosive she was in the process of making and ran forward. "I can help! I'll grab my whip!"

Tracey and a few others ran to grab their weapons. Johnny turned back to the axe.

Funny Man walked up to Johnny. "I think that's sharp enough."

Johnny held up the razor sharp weapon. "You think?"

Funny took the handle in one hand. "Definitely." He noticed Johnny's distracted expression and raised an eyebrow. "You okay, man?"

Johnny sighed and crossed his arms. "Yeah. I just wish Charlie was here."

Funny shrugged. "Well, you did everything you could to save him. It was Book who took him away, and we're going to get him back. It wasn't your fault."

Johnny scratched Jack on the head. "I guess."

"Johnny!" Danny yelled. "I think we're ready!" He gestured to the pile of explosives next to him. The rest of the group he'd been working with grinned collectively, looking very proud of their work.

"I hooked up Funny's phone to the laptop," King Don added. "And I've hacked into every audio system around Los Angeles. We should be ready to broadcast a message."

Johnny smiled. It looked like everything was coming together. 

"Alright," he said. "We'll head out once they come back with more vehicles. Book isn't going to know what hit him!"

Danny placed one last explosive on top of the pile and looked up at the guys. "You think we've got enough to blow this place up?"

Funny Man straightened his mask. "I hope so. We're just gonna have to save some for Book Industries."

The crew that had gone out stealing cars had also scouted out a few abandoned buildings around the edges of Los Angeles. So far, none of them had gone too far into the city. Right now, all they wanted to do was get Book's attention, and what better way to do that than blow up a few buildings?

"We just have to make sure the explosion is big enough for Book to notice," J-Dog said. 

Johnny held up a box of matches. "We ready to go?"

Danny held up his phone. "I'll check with everyone else."

As Danny called the other teams scattered around the city, Johnny unrolled a string leading from the pile of explosives to the door of the building. It was an old apartment complex that was supposed to be reconstructed into a hotel, and they figured no one would be around to be injured in the explosion. Some people hadn't been able to find buildings and had decided to blow up some cars instead. It wouldn't be quite as effective, but it would still probably get their message across.

J-Dog turned to Danny. "We good?"

Danny hung up his phone and nodded. "Yep. Let's go!"

Danny, J-Dog, and Funny Man ran out the door and Johnny pulled a match from the box. He knelt down and lit the string before turning and sprinting through the doors.

The guys ran away from the building and ducked behind the car they'd driven. J-Dog turned to Funny Man. "You ready?"

Funny pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Yep. Let's do this."

Councilman Book didn't expect the peace and quiet of the city to be interrupted. But as he stood in front of the window in his office, the deafening sound of an explosion made its way into his office and he frowned. That was not a noise that belonged in his perfect Los Angeles.

A moment later, the door behind him slammed open. "Councilman Book!" Dr. Judy shouted. "We have a problem!"

"I heard," he said, turning around to face her. 

Dr. Judy nervously clicked her pen. "They're all around the edge of the city. They just blew up a bunch of abandoned buildings and-"

She was interrupted when a loud static sound exploded from her phone. She fished it out of her pocket and stared at the screen. "What..."

She almost dropped her phone when a voice crackled through the speaker. "Citizens of Los Angeles! This is the wise prophet and sage of Hollywood, Funny Man! We've got a message for Councilman Book!"

Book's frown grew as he listened to the voice. "You've been controlling our city for way too long! You've been forcing people to go through your brainwashing process, including a very close friend of ours. We've surrounded the city, and we've got tons more explosives reserved for Book Industries! This was just a taste of what we can do, and we're going to everything we can to take our city back!"

The audio went back to static before the line cut off completely. Dr. Judy looked up at Book. "Sir? What do we do?"

Book thought for a moment. Then his frown stretched upward into a grin. "Judy, can you see where the explosions came from?"

She walked towards the window and stared outside. Plumes of smoke rose from the outskirts of the city. "Yes. Why?"

"They think they've got us surrounded, but they've just given away their locations." Book turned back to the window and stared out as if he could see the smoke in the air. "Send every single security guard we have after them."

J-Dog hesitantly peeked out the window of the car as Johnny drove down the street. "Do you think they took the bait?"

Danny turned around to look at J-Dog. "I hope so. If they didn't, we'll have a hard time getting into Book Industries."

Johnny reached over and nudged Danny. "I think we got them." 

He pointed to the road ahead of them. Four black cars identical to their own were speeding down the street, headed directly for one of the columns of smoke at the edge of the city. 

J-Dog glanced at Funny Man. "Nice job, 'prophet of Hollywood'."

"It's 'wise prophet _and sage_ of Hollywood'," Funny corrected. He reached to the seat next to him and pet Jack on the head. "I hope we can pull this off."

Johnny took a deep breath as they slowly approached the middle of the city. "Here goes nothing."

And so the people of Los Angeles went to take back their city- for what would hopefully be the final time. They couldn't change the people who had gone through the process back to their old selves, but at least they could get rid of the mastermind behind the process and make sure it didn't happen to anyone else. 

Johnny parked the car just outside Book Industries. Dozens of other cars had already swarmed the building. People in masks frantically carried explosives from the trunks of their vehicles to the door. Someone had smashed the window in the front of the building so they could easily hop in and out.

"You guys go find Charlie and get him out of there!" Tracey yelled as she ran past with an armful of explosives. "Book might have realized that we're not at the edge of the city by now and might be calling his guards back!"

Danny nodded. "Right!" He hefted his bat and hopped through the front window. "Let's go!"

Charlie desperately pulled at the door handle to his room. He'd heard the guards outside run down the hall, and he figured that now was as good a time as any to try escaping. 

"Come on," he grumbled. The door was locked, which normally wouldn't be too much of a problem- he could probably just body-check it a couple times and it would swing right open. But unfortunately, it was a pull door. He couldn't exactly break the lock and the hinges at the same time.

He froze when he heard the lock click. Footsteps echoed on the other side of the door. He hesitantly turned the doorknob and pulled on the door. It swung open easily.

He poked his head into the hallway beyond. The only person in sight was a redheaded lady in a white lab coat walking down the corridor away from him.

He stepped out into the hallway. He heard faint yelling coming from the floor below him. Had the guys come to save him?

Charlie grinned and dug his bandanna and sunglasses out of his pocket. If there was a fight going on, he didn't want to miss it.

"Which room did Don say he was in again?" Johnny asked as the four guys ran up the escalator to the second floor.

"2-C," J-Dog answered. Johnny had been too busy doing lines of cocaine with a few other people while Don tracked Charlie's location. J-Dog thought Johnny would have started paying attention more often by now, but... Well, old habits die hard.

They reached the second floor and started scanning the doors for Charlie's name. "2-C, 2-C," Danny muttered as he read the numbers and names. "Where the fuck is 2-C?"

He let out a loud grunt when he abruptly collided with someone speeding down the hallway. He fell to the ground and the person he'd crashed into toppled over beside him.

Danny looked up and lifted his mask. It didn't take him long to recognize the bandanna tied around the person's lower face. "Charlie!" He shot to his feet and held out a hand. "You're okay!"

Charlie took Danny's hand and let Danny pull him to his feet. He wrapped his arms around Danny in a hug. "I fuckin' _knew_ you guys were gonna come find me!"

Funny Man ran up to the two of them and joined in the hug. "Of course we were gonna save you!" 

J-Dog slung his arm around Charlie's shoulder. "We couldn't just let them turn you into a mindless zombie," he added.

Johnny walked up and wrapped his arms around Funny Man and Charlie. "Glad to see you're okay."

They were all back together once again. They were all relieved that Charlie hadn't gone through the whole process. If he had, the other four would have found Book themselves personally tossed him out the window of his own building. They hoped this was the last time they would be separated. If Book survived and came after them again, they didn't know what they'd do. 

But now that they were together, they were determined to take Book down once and for all. As long as they were around, someone would always be there to fight against Book and his horrible brainwashing.

"Hey!" a voice yelled. They broke their hug and turned to look down the hallway. The guy with the curly hair and the comedy/tragedy mask was running towards them, his lead pipe in hand. "We've got a problem!"

Funny Man gripped his axe in both hands. "What's wrong?"

"Book called his security guards back!" the guy said. "Even if we blow up the building, we're still going to have to deal with them. There are way too many for us to fight!"

More people in masks had come up the escalator and were sprinting towards them. "A few of Book's guards have already arrived!" Tracey yelled. "We had to block the window again and barricade the door!"

"We've already got all the explosives," the guy with the curly hair continued, "so at least they can't blow up the building with us in it."

"What do we do?" asked a tall lady wearing a goalie mask.

Johnny was quiet for a moment. "Well..." he said finally, "we could light up the explosives, and fight our way through the few security guards that are outside. Then we'd have to try leaving the city without getting caught by the rest of the guards that are on their way here, and also risk getting blown up with the building if we can't get through the guards in time."

Tracey grimaced. "Not really liking that plan."

"Me neither," Charlie agreed. 

J-Dog turned to Funny Man. He was staring at the floor, his hands resting on the pommel of his axe. J-Dog reached over and lifted Funny's mask. The look on his face told J-Dog everything he needed to know. "You've got a plan," J-Dog pointed out.

Funny Man hesitated. "Maybe. I'm not sure."

"What is it?" Danny asked eagerly.

Jack squawked from where he was still perched on Johnny's shoulder. "What is it!"

Funny Man furrowed his brow. "Well... We only need one person to light the explosives."

Everyone was silent as they let that sink in. Funny was right- lighting the explosives was a one man job. 

"Don't get all emotional yet," said one guy in a purple masquerade eye mask. "It's not guaranteed that whoever stays behind will die, especially if everyone else fights off the security guards beforehand."

Funny Man nodded. "Right. So everyone else gets through the guards, and when they're all safe, the one person who stays behind lights up the building and gets the fuck out of there. It might be more dangerous for that person, but..." He shrugged. 

J-Dog thought about it. "I mean... it'll work."

"But who's gonna stay behind?" Johnny asked. 

No one spoke. Nobody really wanted to volunteer for the task and risk getting blown to bits with the building. 

Finally Danny sighed. "I'll do it-"

Funny Man crossed his arms. "Well, if you're staying behind, I'm staying behind too!"

"If you're both doing it, I'm doing it!" J-Dog added. "I'm not letting you two stay here and possibly die without me!"

Charlie stepped forward. "Well-"

"Oh my god," Tracey interrupted. "How about all five of you stay behind? That way we're not stuck here forever trying to decide which one of you should stay!"

Johnny shrugged. "Works for me."

So as everyone else ran out of the building to fight off the security guards that had already shown up outside, our five heroes gathered up the explosives from the main floor and planted them throughout the building. Once everyone else was safe, they would light one explosive on the ground floor and hope that it would trigger the one on the second floor, creating a chain reaction through Book Industries. They hoped they could get out of there before the place went up in flames, but even if they didn't, at least they would have taken Councilman Book down with them. 

Johnny stepped out of the elevator. "I took care of the ninth floor!"

J-Dog walked up to him and handed him an armful of explosives. "Take these up to the seventh. Funny Man called and said he needed more."

As Johnny carried more explosives to the elevator, Charlie nervously glanced out the front window. Someone had simply shoved a couple of couches from the reception area through the empty window frame to block it off, but he could still see through a small gap between the furniture. He spotted someone trying to wrestle a gun away from a guard. Someone else came up behind the guard and smacked them on the back of the head with an aluminum baseball bat. Tracey was strangling a guard with her whip as her curly-haired friend cracked his lead pipe over people's heads. They seemed to be managing pretty well so far, but how long would that last?

Danny tossed a bunch of explosives behind the receptionist's desk. "You think that's enough for the main floor?"

Charlie walked over and peeked over the desk. "I hope so. Johnny just took the last of it to the seventh."

J-Dog hefted his sledgehammer and stared at the door. "I hope they're doing okay out there."

"Yeah," Danny agreed. "If the guards get in, we might just have to blow this place up with us still in it." He lifted his mask and opened a beer (where he got it, I still have no idea. What the fuck, Danny).

The elevator door opened and Johnny and Funny Man ran out. "We're all set!" Funny yelled.

Then the door shot open and slammed against the wall. The guys all whirled around to face it, their weapons at the ready. Two security guards ran in with their pistols in their hands. 

Charlie ducked as a bullet flew past his head. He desperately hoped that they wouldn't accidentally shoot any of the explosives and send the whole place up in flames.

Jack launched himself off Charlie's shoulder and flew straight for the guards. One of them tried to shoot at the bird, but J-Dog sprinted forward and hit them in the knees with his sledgehammer. A sickening crack ricocheted off the walls and the guard went down with a scream.

Funny Man ran for the other guard and they aimed their gun directly at his head. Danny reared back his arm and threw his empty beer bottle at the guard. It smashed against his head, and the guard stumbled. Funny Man rushed forward and swung his axe at their neck. They didn't even have time to scream before they collapsed in a splash of blood.

The guard that J-Dog had attacked raised their gun again with shaking hands, but Johnny walked up and kicked them in the head. They dropped the weapon and fell unconscious immediately.

Tracey appeared in the doorway. Her mask was crooked and she was breathing heavily. "Sorry! There were almost too many to handle and we didn't think any of them would get inside. We took care of the rest of them, though! We're heading out now, so you can light this fucker up whenever you're ready!"

Charlie grinned. "Thanks, Tracey!" He turned to the guys. "Are we ready?"

Johnny held up a string and a box of matches. "Just have to set up the fuse and light it."

He went to the pile of explosives behind the desk. The rest of the guys exchanged a few celebratory high fives and fist bumps. It seemed like Book Industries was finally going to go down for good.

Charlie froze when he heard the elevator ding. He turned around and saw the doors slowly opening.

He nudged J-Dog. "Jay?"

J-Dog looked up just as the doors opened and two people stepped out. "Shit."

Dr. Judy and Councilman Book walked out of the elevator and into the reception area. Dr. Judy had abandoned her clipboard and pen once more and had shoved her hands in her pockets. Book strode towards them with a smile on his face. 

"Nice job," he said. The cocky grin never left his lips. "You know, I'll admit, you almost got me with the explosions. I thought you wouldn't risk coming into the city. Luckily, I kept a few security guards closer just in case you did decide to make an appearance. Unfortunately, it seems like your friends have already taken care of them." He shook his head. "Mildly disappointing. I-"

"Yeah yeah, cut the monologue," Funny Man interrupted. He lifted his axe. "You've lost, Book. We're blowing this place up, and you're going down with it."

Danny shrugged. "You've got no one left to protect you. Face it. You're done."

Book's smile seemed to get even wider. "Oh, am I?"

J-Dog jumped in surprise when a gunshot exploded through the room. He whirled around to see four security guards at the bottom of the escalator. Each one had a pistol in a holster in their belt. One of them had already drawn their gun and had it aimed right at the guys.

Book gestured to Dr. Judy. "And of course, where would I be without my trusted visionary?"

Dr. Judy took a deep breath and removed one hand from her pockets. She pointed a gun directly at Johnny's chest.

Book spread his hands. "You can't get out of this. We will kill you, and Book Industries will remain in control of Los Angeles." He turned his head to face Dr. Judy. "Shoot them."

The guys all tensed, ready to run as soon as the first bullet fired. Dr. Judy gripped her gun with both hands and swallowed nervously. She seemed to be hesitating. Funny Man stared at her, confused, and she locked eyes with him. She moved her mouth, and it looked like she was whispering something, but he couldn't make out what it was. 

Book's smile wavered. "Judy. _Shoot them_."

Dr. Judy's grip on her gun tightened, and what she was saying finally clicked- _duck_.

All five of them dropped to the floor as Dr. Judy opened fire. A bullet thudded into the chest of one of the guards behind them. The other guards scrambled for their guns, but Dr. Judy planted bullets in two of them. The last one finally got their gun out of the holster, but Dr. Judy shot them before they could do anything.

Book smiled. He didn't seem to notice that there had only been four gunshots. "Lovely," he said. "Now that that's out of the way, we should clean up the explosives they were tossing around. There aren't many guards left, but-"

Dr. Judy whirled around and fired one last bullet into Councilman Book's head. He stopped talking immediately and froze. A moment later, his entire body seemed to go limp. His legs folded under him and he collapsed to the floor. Blood drained from the bullet hole in his temple.

Danny slowly stood up from the floor. "Whoa..."

"Holy shit..." Charlie whispered. 

J-Dog stared down at Book's body. "You know, you have at least let me punch him once," he muttered.

Dr. Judy lowered the gun and stared at Book. Her eyes widened. "I..." She slightly shook her head and turned to Johnny. "You have matches?"

Johnny nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

She held out her hand. "I'll light the explosives. You guys get away from here. There are more guards coming, anyway. They'll kill you if they see you."

Johnny hesitated. "Are you sure?"

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes."

Johnny placed the box of matches in her palm. "Alright. You do you, I guess."

He turned around and grabbed Charlie's arm. "Come on."

The guys sprinted to the door. "Do you have the keys?" Danny shouted to Johnny.

Johnny reached into his pocket and pulled out the car keys. "Yep. Let's get out of here!"

They burst through the doors and dashed towards the last car left in the parking lot. They spotted a couple more black vehicles speeding down the street towards them and quickened their pace. They were _not_ about to get caught up in another fight when they were so close to escaping.

They quickly piled into the car and Johnny started the engine. They sped out of the parking lot just as the building went up in flames. 

Danny knocked back a shot of whiskey and slid his empty glass back across the bar for King Don to refill. Johnny ignored the glass zooming past his face as he carefully piled lines of cocaine on the bar. Charlie sat at the bar and fed Jack crackers as he stared up at the TV. Funny Man messed around with some parts from a few dismantled weapons on the pool table, trying and failing to make something functional. J-Dog leaned against the pool table with a blunt in his mouth, watching Funny Man at work. A few other regular customers sat at their usual booths. They recognized the guy with the curly hair and the comedy/tragedy mask sitting at the back of the bar with a glass of whiskey. The skinny guy with tattoos and the disco ball mask sat near the door next to the blond girl in the black bandanna, along with a crew of four other people.

It had been a couple days since Book Industries and the technology for the process was destroyed, and everything seemed pretty much back to normal. Well, _mostly_. The guys didn't know whether they could go back to their apartments or if the people who had gone through the process would simply chase them out again. Most of the city still acted like mindless zombies because of Book's process, and they weren't sure if there was a way to reverse the effects. It would take a long time for Los Angeles to get back to the way it was.

Danny drained another shot and sat up. "You guys wanna get snacks?"

Charlie shot to his feet. "I'll go into the store!"

Funny Man rolled his eyes as he and J-Dog walked towards the door. "He never lets you in."

"Yeah, but we saved the city!" Charlie said, fiddling with the bluetooth in his ear. "Maybe he will!"

It was a short walk to 1 Stop Shop, but the guys saw quite a few people along the way. Most of them had the blank, emotionless stare of people who had gone through the process, but others were more lively, smiling and laughing as they talked with their friends. Some of them were even walking alongside people who had done the process, trying to strike up conversations. 

They approached the convenience store, but before Charlie could barge in through the door, it swung open and someone stepped out with a grocery bag. She stopped in her tracks when she saw the guys.

Johnny raised an eyebrow. "Dr. Judy? You survived?"

She nodded. "Yes. I did." She shoved her free hand in her pocket. "So how have you all been?"

J-Dog shrugged. "Not bad. What about you?"

She sighed. "I've been okay. Actually, I've been trying to find you five. I have some news I think you'd like to hear. "

Danny and Funny Man exchanged a confused glance. "What news?" Danny asked. 

"Councilman Book may or may not have signed some documents that would give all of the rights to Book Industries- and every other associated title- to me if anything ever happened to him."

Charlie blinked. "So... _you_ own Book Industries now?"

J-Dog crossed his arms. "Is that supposed to be good news?"

She smiled proudly. "Yes, actually, it is. I'm taking the company in an entirely new direction. I've rented out a few rooms in a new building and hired some new doctors. We're currently working on a way to reverse Book's process." She furrowed her brow and tapped her chin. "You think 'Judy Industries' sounds better than 'Book Industries'?"

Johnny's eyes widened. "You're trying to reverse the process? Why?"

Funny Man shrugged as he lit a joint. "That's character development, man."

Dr. Judy pushed her glasses up her nose. "Well... I guess I started to see why you were all so aggressively against the process. The city just got so... quiet. It didn't seem like Los Angeles. And when he decided to kill you for no reason and told me about how much better he thought the city was now, I kind of realized that I was working for an evil control freak." She nervously scratched the back of her neck. "It... it took a lot of thinking for me to decide that getting rid of Book was the best thing for the city. The process can be-"

"Tempting," J-Dog finished. "I know."

She sighed. "Well, I still have a lot of paperwork to get through. I'll let you know if we make any progress in reversing the procedure!"

She turned and walked down the street. The guys all walked up to the store. Charlie disappeared through the door as the other four waited outside.

"Glad to see she's changed her mind," Johnny said, leaning up against the side of the building. 

Funny Man blew a cloud of smoke into the air. "Yeah. Book was an asshole. Maybe now the city will get back to normal!"

J-Dog shrugged. "That's gonna take some time. There are people who aren't going to want the process reversed. They're still going to be in the city, and most of them won't approve of reversing the process."

Then the door to the store swung open. "For the last fucking time," a voice shouted, "stay the _fuck_ away from my damn store!"

Charlie stumbled out and the door slammed shut behind him. He quickly righted himself and turned around to look at the guys. "Uh... someone else wanna get the snacks?"

Danny grinned and slung an arm around J-Dog's shoulders. "I think things are already getting back to normal."

**Author's Note:**

> glad I'm finally done this series. I have a few other ideas for fanfics and I'm excited to get started on them, plus I've got a couple other other WIPs I should work on. I hope you enjoyed this shitty series


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